After settling Young Master Chu, Mu Sheng walked out of the palace, took a deep breath, and exhaled a stream of white mist. In early spring, the weather was still relatively cold.
At this time, a dozen women with brocade masks in the far distance of the square were closely guarded by a group of eunuchs and went to the inner palace to settle down. It was better to say that they were being escorted, and it was better to be called being detained. Some of them were willing to do so. How about being buried for the old emperor?
Mu Sheng looked at them from a distance. He wanted to save them but was unable to do anything. He wanted to go up and comfort them, but then gave up the idea. What was the use? On the contrary, it offends my own conscience, so I might as well pretend not to see it.
At this moment, a strong wind blew by, and the brocade cloth used to cover the heads of several women was blown up by the strong wind. Many women revealed their true colors, causing chaos in the team. The eunuch responsible for guarding them He also quickly stepped forward to rearrange the brocade cloth that covered their faces.
At this time, Mu Sheng inadvertently saw the true face of one of the women from a distance, his expression changed slightly, and he immediately pretended that nothing happened. Yang Jin, the manager of the inner court standing next to him, did not pay attention either. The incident happened far away from the main hall. , ordinary people's eyesight cannot detect these small episodes, but Mu Sheng is different. He is a monk, and his five senses are far superior to ordinary people, but he can see clearly.
Mu Sheng looked back at Yang Jin, who hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "Your Majesty, do you have something to arrange for your servant to do?"
Mu Sheng made up a random reason and sent him away. He then called another eunuch to whisper something, asking him to avoid Yang Jin's eyes and ears and do things according to his own wishes. Obviously, Yang Jin could not be trusted in this matter. .
After a while, Yang Jin came back to report: "Your Majesty, I have completed the tasks you asked me to do."
Mu Sheng nodded slightly and said he understood. After a cup of tea, the previous eunuch saw Yang Jin guarding the emperor and did not dare to come forward to report the work. He just nodded to the emperor from a distance, indicating that the matter had been settled. .
Mu Sheng then turned to Manager Yang and said, "Yang Jin, I will take you to meet an old friend."
When Yang Jin heard this, he was confused and didn't know what his master meant, so he had to agree: "I know."
The emperor got on the chariot and went to a side hall accompanied by Yang Jin. After arriving at his destination, Mu Sheng turned around and waved his hand to the palace attendants following him, and ordered: "Everyone, please step aside. No summons is allowed and no one is allowed to come near this place.”
All the palace officials nodded in agreement and then all retreated. Yang Jin knew that the emperor was bringing him here to meet a so-called old friend, so everyone retreated, except of course himself.
Seeing that they were the only two people left in Zhouzhou, Yang Jin immediately stepped forward and opened the palace door, letting the emperor go in first.
After Mu Sheng entered the main hall, he saw a woman in white kneeling on a futon in the main hall wearing brocade. She was obviously a member of the funeral procession of the late emperor. Yang Jin then followed the emperor into the hall, and when he saw the woman in white He froze on the spot. Suddenly, Yang Jin's whole body trembled like chaff, his face instantly turned pale, and he suddenly collapsed to the ground, his whole body became weak, and he no longer had any strength to stand up. He obviously knew the woman's true identity.
Seeing this, Mu Sheng let out a long sigh, sat down opposite the woman, and said, "Should I call you Sun Shu, Mrs. Sun? Or should I call you Li Shu'er?"
Hearing this, the woman knew that her true identity could no longer be concealed, so she took off the brocade cloth on her head to reveal her true face. She was clearly Mrs. Sun, the most favored wife of the late emperor during his lifetime. She was also the one who had been under house arrest in Taiji Palace when Mu Sheng was under house arrest. Yang Jin specially arranged for the stunning palace maid Li Yuer to serve him by his side.
Mu Sheng turned to look at Yang Jin, the frightened and helpless person in charge of the inner court, who was paralyzed on the ground. There was endless chill in his tone, and he angrily said: "You are such a slave, Yang Jin. It's a shame that I trusted you so much in the first place. How dare you secretly send the late emperor's woman to me. When the late emperor was still alive, I made a big mistake unintentionally, messed up the palace, and insulted my elders. How dare you let me face my ancestors, Yang Jin Ah, Yang Jin, do you know your guilt? Now I want to cut you to pieces immediately to relieve the hatred in my heart."
When Yang Jin heard this, his face turned pale. He kowtowed as hard as he could and cried: "Your Majesty, I am guilty. I am guilty. I will go to the court to accept my guilt. I will cut into pieces with a thousand cuts. I also admit it..."
Sun Xiu heard this and scolded: "Go to Tingwei to accept the crime? Do you still think that too few people know about this matter? Your Majesty, you don't have to hold on to Yang Jin. I forced him to do this, and this matter is also Only I and Yang Jin know that if Your Majesty is afraid of tarnishing your holy name, he can just find any reason to kill the two of us, and no one else in the world will ever know about it, but for Concubine As for me, there is no need to take any extra steps, I will follow the late emperor in three days."
After hearing this, Mu Sheng calmed down a little. He looked at her familiar yet unfamiliar expression and asked, "Why, why on earth did you do this?"
Hearing this, Sun Xiang smiled bitterly and said: "What else can I do for? For the sake of children, I want a child. Seeing that the late Emperor is getting older and older, I, if I don't have a boy and a half girl, no matter how I receive all the honors during my lifetime, My dear, I can’t help but accompany the old man to his burial when I die. I really can’t reconcile myself to it, my life-long wish is just to have a child.”
"Your Majesty may not know that the late emperor has completely lost his fertility since he took the Guixu Pill to cultivate immortality. I was also forced to have no choice. The late emperor had no hope, so I had to make this move. At that time, you happened to be under house arrest again. In Taiji Palace, I have served you with all my heart for more than half a year, but I still cannot conceive. This may be my fate."
When Mu Sheng heard this, he smiled bitterly in his heart. If he had known it, he would not have used the double cultivation technique to deliberately prevent pregnancy. It would have been her wish to have a child, and she could have survived because of it. Now it is too late to say anything.
Mu Sheng glanced at Yang Jin, who was lying limply on the ground, and then at the indifferent woman in front of him. It seemed that she had broken through the barrier of life and death. Even when a person was about to die, he had good words. He didn't know what to say for a moment. .
Mu Sheng pondered for a moment and sighed: "Today, just pretend that I have never been here."
When Sun Xuan heard this, her eyes completely lost their luster. She knew that she was bound to die, and then she bowed and said, "Best farewell to Your Majesty."
Mu Sheng stood up and left the house. Seeing this, Yang Jin's legs were too weak to stand up, so he had to roll around and follow the emperor.
Returning to the Four Seas Guiyi Hall, Mu Sheng silently took a look at the late emperor's Zi Palace. He knelt down on the ground and kowtowed heavily to the late emperor's spiritual throne. He thought silently in his heart, "Father, my sons and ministers are unfilial. My sons and ministers are unfilial." …
After Mu Sheng got up, he called Yang Jin to the back hall. After careful calculation, he felt that he could use this incident as an opportunity to completely draw Yang Jin into his side. He could be as messy as he is now. When the situation started, it was very likely that Huo Xiangguo was able to sit on the high position of the general manager of the inner court because he stood up at the critical moment. Although in the inner court, it was easy to depose Yang Jin and choose someone else to be the general manager, but he still wanted to try to make Yang Jin his own Here, this matter can be regarded as a handle that can hold Yang Jin hostage. Even if Mu Sheng thought with his buttocks, he knew that Yang Jin was Huo Zheng's spy who had been deliberately placed around him. If he were to change the person rashly, he might arouse Huo Zheng's suspicion.
Seeing the despair on Yang Jin's face, Mu Sheng asked after a while: "Yang Jin, can you tell us in detail how you conspired with Mrs. Sun?"
Yang Jin knelt on the ground, his face ashen. He knew that he might not be able to survive after doing such a big thing. He thought that he was dead and had nothing to hide. He told the whole story about how he planned this matter. After speaking out, he knew that if such a serious royal scandal occurred, even Huo Xiangguo, his backer, would not protect him. If he really exposed the matter, the court would cover up the truth, even for someone as high and powerful as him. The head of the inner court will never end well.
After listening to Yang Jin's description, Mu Sheng sighed: "So it turns out that you agreed to do dirty work for her just to seduce Mrs. Sun?"
Hearing this, Yang Jin said sheepishly: "Your Majesty, this is the way to survive in the inner palace. If you don't do dirty work for your master, how can a slave have the chance to cling to a noble man? If I don't do it, there will be many people rushing to eliminate misfortune for the master. To avoid this, the slave has to block the open and secret arrows for the master, so that he can be qualified to enjoy the wealth bestowed by the master."
When Mu Sheng heard this, he nodded and said, "Yang Jin, how did you get to the high position of general manager in the first place? Who did you eliminate the disaster for?"
When Yang Jin heard this, there was a hint of hesitation on his face.
Seeing this, Mu Sheng snorted coldly and said, "What? Don't you want to betray the master behind you?"
Hearing this, Yang Jin knelt down and kowtowed as hard as he could: "Your Majesty, this slave deserves to die. There is only one master in my heart, your Majesty."
"Your Majesty, the reason why this slave can become the general manager is because Huo Xiangguo promoted me."
Mu Sheng heard this and said, "Oh? Go on."
At this moment, Yang Jin knew very well that the county magistrate was not as good as the current one. He was the person closest to the emperor. If the emperor had even the slightest suspicion towards him, his end would not be good. Killing him would be like crushing an ant. Think about it. His colleagues in the position of Chamberlain were waiting in a long queue.
Although the new emperor has just succeeded to the throne, there is nothing he can do to deal with the old ministers of the previous dynasty, such as Zuo Prime Minister Huo Zheng, but dealing with them, the eunuchs of the inner court, is just a matter of words. In the final analysis, they are just domestic slaves of the royal family. They don't need to go through the court.
Yang Jin thought through this, and answered the emperor's question honestly, saying: "Your Majesty, when the late emperor suddenly died suddenly at night, Huo Xiangguo silenced almost all the insiders in the inner palace in order to block the news. It was not that the slave took the side of Huo Xiangguo and could not escape this disaster. In fact, the slave's adoptive father, Eunuch Lu of Luliang, did not die on his own hunger strike. The adoptive father was also forced to commit suicide by Huo Xiangguo. Huo Xiangguo was In order to better control the inner palace, the slave was brought out. The slave also has another mission, which is to monitor every move of the new king for the prime minister. If the slave is dead, please punish him."
When Mu Sheng heard this, his heart tightened and he couldn't help but said to himself: "His heart is worth killing!"
Mu Sheng asked: "Huo Xiangguo just asked you to monitor my every move? Nothing else?"
Yang Jin kowtowed repeatedly and said: "Your Majesty, everything I say is true, and there is nothing else."
Mu Sheng waved his hand and said, "Get up and answer."
"Yang Jin, do you know how the late emperor's concubines followed the late emperor?"
Hearing this, Yang Jin looked surprised and asked tentatively: "Your Majesty, do you want to save Mrs. Sun?"
Mu Sheng said: "Not only her, but also you. If she dies, there is no need for you to live, do you understand?"
When Yang Jin heard this, he was overjoyed. He knew that he had come back from the ghost gate again.
Yang Jin immediately knelt down and kowtowed like garlic, showing his loyalty in various ways, and then explained: "Your Majesty, the late emperor's concubines all hanged themselves in a side hall of Gaoyang Palace in the inner court three days later. They were unwilling to commit suicide with dignity. Yes, the slaves will help them look decent."
When Mu Sheng heard this, he thought that this would be troublesome. It would be difficult to save someone from hanging himself. That would be breaking the neck bones and suffocating to death. In fact, it is a very painful way to die. The so-called dignity is just to keep a whole body. , if he committed suicide by taking poison and relying on a few rare elixirs in his hand, and the ability to put him into suspended animation for a short time to deceive the coroner, and then replace him with a civet cat for the prince, there is a high probability that this would be possible.
Seeing the emperor's frown, Yang Jin took the initiative to whisper some advice to him. After hearing this, Mu Sheng asked doubtfully: "Is it really feasible?"
Yang Jin nodded slightly and said: "Your Majesty, nothing works in this inner court. Only money can help. As long as the money is enough, there is no face that cannot be bought. Your Majesty, please feel free to leave this matter to the slaves." Enough."
Mu Sheng was still a little worried, so he took out a pill from his arms and said: "This is the Turtle Breath Pill. After a living person uses it, it will enter a state of suspended animation with stagnant pulse. It can only take effect for twelve hours. You have to grasp it." It’s a good time, remember, you can only survive if Sun Yu survives.”
Hearing this, Yang Jin's heart trembled. He carefully collected the elixir and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the elixir. Your Majesty, please rest assured. With this magical elixir, I will be more confident in accomplishing this matter."
